Best Way to get from Madrid to Seville/Malaga
 

I am trying to plan the logistics of our trip to Spain the end of May. I will be traveling with my husband and our 2 toddlers (1 & 3 years old) We will be flying out of NY into Madrid but do not want to spend time there. We plan to visit Seville, Granada, and a beach area maybe somewhere near Malaga? We will rent a car to get from place to place because of the kids. My question is the best way to get there from Madrid. We are thinking of flying because we will have too much stuff to lug on teh train. Is it best to book connectors with the same airline we are taking from NY (althought pricy) or another way? thanks

You can fly into Seville from Madrid although my wife hates to fly so we immediately jump on the train to Seville which is great. Just don't drive. Rent a car to drive to Granada if you like, you can stop in Ronda, but the bus and train are always better, maybe not the bus with kids but they can walk around the train. The beaches and water are much nicer around Cadiz than on the Med but with a one and three year old I might go to the Malaga area because the water may be calmer. I'm not a big fan of the Costa del Sol although I love the old part of Malaga. If I had to stay there I guess it would be Nerja because it still feels a little Spanish but not much.

We are heading to Madrid April 1 for a week but we want to get out of the city also. The train to Seville might be a good idea. What towns do you recommend going to? Just day trips would be fine for us. We don't drive in foreign countries.

As Egbert says, the AVE train is a good and comfortable option and takes only 2 h 30 mins to both Sevilla and Málaga. But for you, it might be a good idea to fly. Iberia flies directly from Madrid to Sevilla four times a day (one hour). Check with your airline or consult prices/book at http://www.iberia.com/us/?language=en

Recommend you to go to Sevilla first, then rent a car and go to Granada and finally to a beach area in the Málaga region. On return you can fly from Málaga to Madrid with Iberia.

Nerja would be a good option for both adults and toddlers alike if you are looking for great beaches and a nice little town in the Málaga region (pop 20 000). Fine time of year to go, not too hot and out of the most touristy season.
http://www.nerjatoday.com/
http://www.nerjatoday.com/nerja/nerja-for-kids/

Here are some recommendations for excellent places to eat in Nerja with outdoor seating. No problem to bring kids/strollers inside, but these places both serve the best food and will be more spaceous:

The typical Marisquería La Marina for the freshest fish and
seafood; my favourite restaurant in Nerja and very popular with locals. They also do grilled vegetables, salads and a couple of meat dishes. Spaceous terrace. A three course lunch (menu del día) with drinks incl. for 8-9€.
http://www.guideofnerja.com/pages/gu.../marina_en.htm

Would also strongly recommend El Pulguilla, another favourite with locals. Nice terrace in the back and delicious food.
http://www.nerjatoday.com/nerjatapasguide/el-pulguilla/

If you are into Italian, I recommend the mostly open-air Vitaliano on Plaza de los Cangrejos at the end of Avda Castilla Perez, close to the sea. A modest and touristy looking place with genuine and top quality Italian fare (not to be confused with the ice cream/fast food branch behind the El Salvador church).

Delicious Thai and Lao cuisine in Lan Sang (with a terrace):
http://www.lansang.com/

If you do not want to spend time in Madrid -- then why fly there? Malaga has a large international airport with direct flights from New Year. Last year we had a Delta flight from Malaga to New Year.

there are not any direct flights into malaga from New York (Newark) only direct into Madrid

Might it be worth it to use one of the other New York airports? Since we were connect through New York we didn't pay much attention to which one we used. Our direct flight was from Malaga to New York on New Years.

I flew from JFK to Madrid then flew Spanair to Malaga. Rented a car in Malaga.